As the Dartmouth football team celebrated an exciting 21-19 victory over Sacred Heart University on Saturday, rookie Dominick Pierre '14 had another reason to be excited. In his first day on the field for the Big Green, Pierre rushed for 110 yards, scored two touchdowns and made several solid catches all of which garnered him Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week, this week.
The Big Green running back started the game because teammate Nick Schwieger '12, the team's starting running back, was sick.
"[Pierre] had proven himself during practice as a guy that was very capable of making some big plays," assistant coach Chris Wilkerson said. "His number was called and he was ready to make some big plays with the ball in his hands."
Pierre hails from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he graduated from Cavalry Christian Academy. In high school he was captain of his football team for two years and ran for 1,086 yards and 14 touchdowns on 133 carries his senior year.
When looking to play in college, Pierre said he almost committed elsewhere until he visited Dartmouth.
"When I came [to Dartmouth] I fell in love with the campus, the atmosphere and the environment," he said. "The coaches were also just wonderful."
Against Sacred Heart, Pierre averaged 4.4 yards per carry, getting several big runs for up to 12 yards.
"Our offense was just based around [Pierre] the whole game," teammate AJ Houston '11 said. "We owe a lot of our victory to him because he was just the horse of the game."
Houston also said Pierre serves as the perfect complement to Schwieger, who has excelled at running back for Dartmouth.
"[Pierre is] a great young man, [he's] very humble, [he] works extremely hard at what he does, and we're really happy to have him as part of our program," Wilkerson said.
Pierre said that though he was nervous knowing he might have to step up to replace Schwieger, he felt prepared.
"With Schwieger, those are some pretty big shoes to fill," he said. "I was just hoping I would be able to fill in and get the job done."
Despite the fact that it was Pierre's first time on the field as a member of the Big Green football team, Wilkerson said that Pierre had shown himself to be a valuable asset to the team in the time leading up to the match.
"He's had a real good preseason," he said. "He [proved] himself during practice as a guy that was very capable."
Houston also said Pierre was "strong and quick" and has "a lot of the attributes that any coach would look for" in a football player.
"He's got great vision and instincts," Wilkerson said. "He does a real good job just having a good feel for the play."
Tri-captain Pat Scorah '11 said Pierre exemplified the depth on the team this year.
"I think that the difference between this season and last season is that we have more depth at each position," he said. "Dominick did a great job stepping up and showing that."
Pierre also said that he was proud of his performance overall.
"I made a few mistakes here and there, but I was able to get the job done," he said.
Pierre added that he was looking forward to continue working hard the rest of the season.
The team's next game is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against defending Ivy League champions the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn. Although Schwieger will be returning as the starting running back, Wilkerson also said that Pierre has done a good job pushing Schwieger in practice and helping the team prepare itself for the big game ahead.
"[The players] all prepare themselves to play every single snap every single week," he said. "We just have to see how it works out on Saturday."
Pierre said he was looking forward to playing against one of Dartmouth's main competitors this season.
"They're a tough team," he said. "But I think if we work hard in practice all week, we should be good."
